I’m sure it’s happened to you more than once in your life, that perfect Kodak moment that you wished you could have taken a picture of, or even better, recorded. Unfortunately, by the time you whipped out your smartphone and brought up the camera/video app, the opportunity was gone. The future of recording is about to get a heck of a lot more convenient.  A new pair of  hypster chic techno-glasses are inspired by Clark Kent, and offer an easy push-button for recording your life’s moments.

While companies like Google are also working on such an idea, the Vergence Labs project manages to create a video-recording glasses set that actually looks very attractive. The prototypes were made using a 3D printer, and Vergence Labs hopes the final product will be popular among Youtube/Facebook social sharing crowd, since it will give these users a unique perspective to share in their videos.

The glasses even offer a special push-button that turns them into sunglasses as well, giving them a handy dual function. This is a really cool idea, and they look great- at the same time, it makes you think twice before doing something stupid or camera-worthy when someone wearing glasses happens to be around.

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Wouldn’t it be convenient if you could just look up at the sky and you’d instantly see the weather report? Wouldn’t it be nice if you could get walking directions overlaid with what you’re really seeing? All this and more will be possible thanks to Google’s Project Glass.

It’s like taking Google Goggles to a whole new level, providing users with an augmented reality experience via a pair of wearable transparent glasses. Yes, it’s just a concept right now, but the video below demonstrates that Google is very much taking this seriously and it in the works. You can use it to make phone calls, send messages, check your calendar, and so much more.

A group of us from Google[x] started Project Glass to build this kind of technology, one that helps you explore and share your world, putting you back in the moment. We’re sharing this information now because we want to start a conversation and learn from your valuable input. So we took a few design photos to show what this technology could look like and created a video to demonstrate what it might enable you to do.

I’m still not entirely sure how Google will go about executing this. The user seems to be using a series of voice commands in the video, but how do the glasses know what icons to bring up under what circumstances? You’d also have to assume that the glasses are connected to the Internet in some way, though they could be tethering or connected to a smartphone. For better or worse, this is the future of communication. At least you don’t have to worry about people glancing down at their phones to check their messages during a meal; they’ll do it while staring at you right in the face.

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The Google Goggles app on Android phones is pretty neat, being able to recognize objects in the real world and provide you with relevant information, but it doesn’t exactly happen in real time. Google wants to change that by entering the realm of true augmented reality.

There’s word going around that Google is actively pursuing the developing of AR glasses and they’ve already entered the prototype stage. The idea is that they’ll connect, presumably over Bluetooth, to your smartphone. Then, as you gaze upon the world, your view will be overlaid with relevant info, like driving directions, office space for rent, or something about the sandwich you’re about to eat.

What’s weird is that the AR Google Goggles don’t use a transparent display to do this. Instead, you get an opaque display over one eye and presumably a regular lens over the other eye. It’s like wearing an eyepatch, sort of, but when your brain combines the two images, it’s like the data is being overlaid. Sort of.

At least that’s the idea. As you can imagine, this is very early in development and it’ll likely be quite some time before the product is commercially viable. They need to deal with processor size, battery power, logistic, connection issues, and so on. I’ve used Vuzix “video glasses” before and I didn’t like them. I can’t imagine this opaque display over one eye would be all that much better.

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I wouldn’t say that I use it terribly often, but Google Goggles is an amazing little app. I take a picture of something — almost anything — and it will recognize what it is. If it’s a product, I can then do a quick online search for reviews and pricing information. eBay wants to do the same thing with its mobile apps.

eBay CEO John Donahoe announced at the Innovate eBay new developer conference that the company plans on rolling out image recognition technology in is mobile offerings before the end of the year. Once again, the core concept mirrors that of Google Goggles. You’re out in the world, you take a picture of something you want, and the eBay app starts searching through its online marketplace for similar products that you can bid on and buy.

Since this is eBay, the image search will be geared more toward buying products and related products. As such, snapping pictures of clothing and furniture may work a heck of a lot better (assuming they’ve got the algorithm nailed down) than with Google Goggles. The latter doesn’t recognize apparel all that well, for instance.

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Junaio 3.0 is kind of like Google Goggles, but with augmented reality and a set database of information. That’s basically how I interpret the latest update to the Junaio mobile browser. AR is the big deal for this option, but the new “Scan the World” feature adds to the mix by letting you, well, scan the world.

Not unlike Google Goggles, you simply point your smartphone camera at the item of interest and the browser will recognize what you see. From there, it can bring up the relevant info or engage you in an augmented reality experience. An example is scanning a painting at a museum and then having Junaio display information about the work and the artist. The same thing happens when you scan QR codes or barcodes, getting product information and potentially opening up a shopping microsite where you can buy the item at a discounted price.

Unlike Google Goggles, though, all this information has to come by way of the Junaio database and not the web at large. The plus is that you can use interactive 3D augmented reality experiences. If there’s a magazine that’s supported, for example, you can get an eye-popping dynamic 3D AR image rather than the static one on the page, as the picture below illustrates. That’s pretty neat. They just need to get the various vendors and publishers on board with this.

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